For directing project and programs that increased organ donation by 50 percent.

Director, Strategic Project Management at LiveOnNY | New York, New York, United States

Zachary Almer says he’s the kind of person who thrives working in ambiguity. “I really enjoy when someone says we need to get something done and there’s no one way to do it. That’s why I love project management, because it allows me to step into a situation where there’s a problem and I need to fix it,” he explains.

Zachary’s career initially focused on the business side of health care, but two years into his career, he found himself gravitating toward project management. He discovered that he enjoyed diving deep into projects and programs. “I shadowed different administrators and project managers for the department I worked in to get a real feel for what project management was about. It opened my eyes to what the field could be.”

His next job as a healthcare project coordinator gave him more exposure to project-management work. Over time, Zachary identified the aspects tof the work he found most rewarding: collaborating with different teams and asking unconventional questions when solving tough problems.

One of Zachary’s most transformative roles was as a resource alignment and integration manager for Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. There, he led an effort to consolidate ten multi-year leases over three months, resulting in the physical relocation of over 600 hospital staff to new sites. The cost savings for the hospital was around $25 million. Zachary also formed and executed a strategic plan to reduce the cancer center’s footprint by 20% over three years through a formalized hybrid work model.

“I had exposure to project-management tools and techniques in that role that allowed me to take on high-profile projects. I worked with high-level executives and administrators across the hospital to plan and implement critical resource initiatives regarding space strategy. That role sharpened my skills and was key to my project management career path.” And all that experience paid off—in 2022, he successfully completed his Project Management Professional (PMP)^® certification.

Now, as the director of strategic project management at LiveOnNY— the federally designated Organ Procurement Organization— Zachary has played a crucial role in growing the number of organs and tissues procured each year, a record-breaking 50% increase across the New York Metro region. “Having my PMP certification has made me a better leader,” he says, emphasizing the importance of staying curious and coachable to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing. “It’s allowed me to become comfortable working in situations where the path forward isn’t clear and it’s fostered my creative thinking and problem-solving skills, while the learnings from my PMP have supplemented my ability to coach others towards achieving desired results and to help understand how to better remove barriers to success.”

In his current position, Zachary enjoys the flexibility to engage with various projects and seize learning opportunities. He values his role as both a learner and a teacher, dedicating time to mentorship through a healthcare administration association and the university with which he is affiliated. “I think if you’re in healthcare, most people have selfless aspirations by the nature of signing up for this work. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the mentorship I received early on. As long as I have the experience to share, I want to give back,” he says.

For Zachary, the intersection of project management and healthcare offers a fulfilling path where he can continuously learn, lead, and support others in their journeys, even when the way forward isn’t always clear.